Blood stained sweater
by maskmaker88
Summary: One day while the Ham Hams are in the forest, Bijou finds something strange. Rated M for violance and language. Read and reveiw if you like. chapter 8 up.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own hamtaro in any way other than having some merchandise in my possession.

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It was a bright sunny day for the Ham Hams. The sun was shining; the wind gave a cool breeze. Everything was perfect. Howdy and Dexter were fighting over Pashmena. Boss was blushing while looking at Bijou.

Hamtaro and Bijou were searching for something to investigate. Bijou sniffed around for something when she smelt something strange. The smell was horrible. She traced the smell to a nearby bush. Bijou slowly pushed the leaves away.

Bijou screamed at what she saw. All the Ham Hams ran to her to see what was wrong. "Bijou!" yelled Boss. "What's wro-" Boss stopped when he saw what was behind the bush. Behind the bush was a male hamster with red fur and wearing a red hooded sweater. The hamster was covered in blood and a pool of it surrounded him.

"W-what the!" boss yelled. "W-what happened?!" "I-I don't kn-know!" screamed Bijou. "What d-do we do?!" suddenly Pashmena stepped forward. "I know a thing-or-two about emergencies!" she said. "First we need to clear the area of objects that may cause problems." All the Ham Hams started clearing the area of twigs, stones and glass.

"Then we need to clean the blood and stop the bleeding." Hamtaro walked slowly up to the injured hamster to search for cuts or bruises.

As he approached the body, Hamtaro thought he might throw up. The bloody hamster had a hole in his stomach and a twisted foot. "H-he's got a... a hole i-in the st-stomach" Hamtaro stuttered. "And a twisted f-foot..." Pashmena ran over to the injured hamster.

"We need to move the body." She said. "Hamtaro, Boss, Oxnard and Stan, get me two sticks a bit longer than him" Pashmena pointed at the injured hamster. "Also get two leaves big enough to cover him."

The Ham Hams went to work immediately. Boss and Hamtaro climbed a nearby tree to collect leaves. Oxnard and Stan were looking through the pile of objects they moved earlier. "Ow iz e doing?" asked Bijou.

"The wound in his stomach isn't fatal." Said Pashmena. "But his ankle is broken. And I can't seem to unzip his hoodie to stop the bleeding." "Iz zere nothing I can do?"

"You could grab my backpack" Pashmena said. Bijou quickly ran to grab Pashmena's backpack. It was by the tree Pashmena had been sitting at. She grabbed the backpack not realizing it was unzipped.

Medical supplies, a pair of mittens and four tiny water bottles poured out of the bag. "Merde!" Bijou shouted as she franticly began picking everything up. Unfortunately, the medical supplies were now dirty.

Bijou didn't notice and picked the last item up. When Bijou arrived, the Ham Hams were starting to make something with the two sticks and leaves. 'Oh non, did I really take zat long?!' she thought. "Bijou!" shouted Pashmena. "Hand me my medical supplies!"

Bijou ran with her hand in the backpack towards Pashmena and handed her a handful of gauze. "...Uhh Bijou?" said Pashmena looking at what Bijou had handed her. "These gauze are dirty." Bijou gasped as she realized what she had done.

"...I-I'm so sorry." Bijou apologized. "'sigh' it's alright, I'll just have to improvise." Pashmena said while unravelling her scarf. Pashmena grabbed her bag and fished out a small metal rod. She put the rod next to the injured hamster's leg.

Pashmena pushed the rod into a smaller size to match the hamster's leg. She then wrapped her scarf around the rod and the leg. "This should keep the foot, leg and ankle straight for a long time.

Now are you guys done?" Pashmena said looking at the other Ham Hams. "Yep!" they replied moving to show that they had constructed a stretcher out the sticks and leaves. "Perfect" said Pashmena. "Now all we need to do is get him on the stretcher and bring him to the clubhouse."

The Ham Hams carefully moved the injured hamster onto the stretcher. Then Boss, Oxnard, Howdy and Stan picked up the stretcher and the Ham Hams scurried towards the clubhouse. Once they got to the tunnel entrance, they rammed through the door, not realizing they used the stretcher to do so, and ran through the tunnels.

Once they got to the clubhouse's door, they, yet again not realizing they had an injured hamster, rammed the door open. "Damnit!" Pashmena shouted. "If you keep doing that, h-" 'thud!' the stretcher broke, causing the injured hamster to hit the ground.

"**PERFECT!**" Pashmena shouted angrily. "Anything else you'd like to do?!" "Sorry" the Ham Hams replied. "Well don't just stand there, get him on the table!" Pashmena ordered. "And be **CARFUL!**"

Boss quickly picked the injured hamster up and laid him on the table, causing the hamster's head to hit the wood. "THATS NO- 'sigh'oh forget it!" Pashmena quickly ran to the cupboard and pulled out a medical bag, then ran back to the injured hamster.

She rifled through the bag and pulled out a pair of scissors, two sets of clean gauze and some peroxide. "All right, I just need to remove this hoodie so I can clean his wound." Pashmena slowly put the scissors near the hamster's hoodie ready to cut it.

Suddenly, Pashmena's hand was grabbed by the hamster. Everyone gasped. "What the hell are you doing?" the hamster questioned opening his eyes. His eyes were surprisingly red. Everyone, yet again, gasped.

"I need to clean t-that wound. But I can't seem t-to unzip your hoodie. If you could, would remove it?" Said Pashmena, still trying to free her hand. "I could, but I won't. This wound, it's nothing, I can fix it myself" the hamster said in a stern voice. "No, it's not nothing, it's in need of cleaning!" Pashmena said finally freeing her hand.

"I'll be fine." The hamster replied getting off the table. When the hamster's feet hit the ground, his eye twitched. He looked down to see his feet. One was the same, red, and the other was wrapped up in a cotton, pink scarf. He made a puzzled face then sighed. "I'll be going now." He said limping towards the door.

The Ham Hams moved out of the way of the injured hamster. Pashmena hesitated for a second but ran towards the door, blocking the hamster's path. She stretched her arms to her sides as if to say 'you'll go no further'. "You're in my way. Move." The hamster said coldly. "You're injured!" Pashmena yelled. "You're not going anywhere until that wound heals up, and I get my scarf back! And I won't take it back until that ankle is better!"

The hamster sighed. He clearly wasn't going to win this, and he had, for some reason, a headache. So he slowly limped towards the table and sat in one of the chairs, using the chair beside him as a footrest.

"Fine." He said in a blank tone. "I'll stay until my ankle heals. But when it does, I'm out of here." "That's fine with me." Pashmena said putting her arms down. "But that wound needs cleaning." "I'll clean it, alone, at night." He replied. "By the way. Where's my bag?" "What bag?" Pashmena asked sitting down next to the hamster.

"My hockey bag" he answered. "You play?" asked Stan. "no." The hamster replied. "It just holds... my things." "Where did you leave it, monamie?" Bijou asked. "First of all, I'm not your friend." He said. "Second, I left my bag under the old stump in the forest you found me in, seven, human, feet away from where I fell asleep."

"Wait, what?!" Pashmena yelled, which caused the injured hamster to plug his ears. "You fell asleep?!" " You are sitting right next to me. You yelling is just going to add deafness to my list of problems. And yes, I fell asleep in a puddle of blood." He replied in an annoyed tone.

"But how can you sleep in blood?" Pashmena said, remembering to keep her voice down. "And on that matter, why were you sleeping in blood? And whose blood was it? I mean, you couldn't have bled that much from that wound." "very easily. I almost got eaten by a cat. And it belonged to the cat." He answered each question.

"WHAT!!!" every Ham Ham, including Pashmena, yelled. "'Sigh' I might as well buy a hearing aid." The hamster said. "You almost got eaten by a cat?!" pashmena yelled. "..." the hamster remained quiet.

"Oops, I mean, you almost got eaten by a cat?" Pashmena said, this time remembering to speak quieter. "yes." He answered. "I'll tell you the story if I can get my bag." "Boss, Hamtaro, Oxnard, go get his bag." Sandy ordered. "I wanna hear his story!"

"Why do I have to go?" Boss questioned. Sandy growled and gave Boss a death stare. "O-on our way!" Boss stuttered while grabbing Hamtaro and Oxnard by the hands and bolting out the door.

"Wait!" the hamster yelled. Boss stopped and looked back. "What?" Boss said. "If you do find my bag." The hamster said. "Whatever you do. Do. Not. Open. It." He said in a very serious tone. Boss swallowed hard and nodded. "Ok." Boss said. "We won't open it... uh... um."

"Satsu." The hamster said. "My name is Satsu Taika."

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Well, that's it. I hope you enjoyed.


	2. Chapter 2

I'd like to thank ChargingForwardBlind for being the first person to review Blood stained sweater and first review altogether. Thanks, I really do appreciate it.

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When Boss, Hamtaro and Oxnard arrived at the forest, they began to search for the blood puddle where they had found Satsu. "Hiff, hiff" Hamtaro sniffed. "Guys! I think I found it!" yelled Boss.

Hamtaro and Oxnard scurried over to Boss. Boss was pointing at a patch of red grass. The blood had dried up while they were gone and was almost impossible to notice. "Ok, Satsu said his bag was under a tree stump right?"

"And seven or so 'human' feet away from here!" Hamtaro added.

"Alright guys!" said Boss. "Spread out!"

"Right!" said Hamtaro and Oxnard.

With that, the three broke into three different directions sniffing for the faintest scent of Satsu. Boss ran into a rock that had no trees, or stumps, around it. So he decided to see how the others were faring. Hamtaro HAD found a stump but couldn't figure out to get under it. The stump seemed to be firmly planted on the ground with no way of getting under it.

"Guy's I found it! I think" he shouted.

"Whada'ya mean I think?!" Boss shouted running towards Hamtaro.

"Well, I found a stump, but I can't get under it." Hamtaro answered. "Did'ja try digging under it?" Boss asked sounding annoyed.

"Uhh... no..."

"'Sigh' then lets stat digging! Wait, where's Oxna-"

"AHHHHHH!" an ear bleeding scream came from the opposite way the two hamsters were standing.

"That sounds like Oxnard!" Hamtaro shouted running towards the screams direction.

When the hamsters arrived, they froze at what they saw. In front of them lay backwards was Oxnard trembling in fear. In front of him was a large cat laying on the ground, motionless, blood seeping out its mouth onto a large puddle that Oxnard laid in.

"W-what the hell happened!?" yelled Boss.

"I-I-I d-do-don't kn-know!" stuttered Oxnard. "I-I jus-" he swallowed hard. "Just stepped in th-the b-b-blood a-and lo-loo-looked u-up t-to see w-where it c-c-came fr-from."

"Th... this must be the cat Satsu mentioned." Boss pointed out, trying not to sound scared. "Hamtaro! Help me pick up Oxnard."

"O-ok"

Boss and Hamtaro helped their friend up off the blood drenched ground and walked back toward the stumps position, making sure NOT to look back at the horrific sight, unless they wanted to test whether the cat really _was_ dead or not. The walk was dead silent. The only sound was the sound of blood dripping off Oxnard. When they arrived at the stump, Hamtaro and Boss looked around to see any sort of entrance. Oxnard had gotten over the cat remembering all the times a cat almost had him for lunch. He sighed and decided to help his friends. They circled the stump several times, and still found nothing to indicate it could be entered. "HEEEEYYY!" yelled a voice from behind them. It was Panda running with a hamster sized wagon behind him. "Panda!" shouted Boss. "What'er you doin here?"

Panda stopped in front of his friends. "Satsu... sent... me... to... help!" he said between breaths. "W-why... is Oxnard... covered in... in blood?"

"Long story" said Boss. "But how'd you get here? You weren't even with us in the forest when we found Satsu. And you said you'd be home all day today."

"I decided to come to the clubhouse when my owners were out." Said Panda, who finally caught his breath. "Everyone explained everything to me."

"Well, did they tell'ya how we're supposed ta get in here?" Boss said in an annoyed tone.

"Yeah, Satsu told me how to get in his house."

"His hou- never mind. Just tell us how." Boss demanded.

Panda walked nonchalantly towards the stump and circled around it and came to a stop near one of the roots. He then pulled on a patch of grass. The patch popped open and in Panda's hand was a circular patch of grass. Where the grass once was, was a small hole barely big enough for Hamtaro to fit in.

"You guys climb up the stump and I'll let you inside, alright?" said Panda.

Boss, Hamtaro and Oxnard climbed up the stump while Panda crawled through the hole. While the Ham Hams were waiting something dawned on Hamtaro.

"Hey guys? Why didn't we try climbing the stump earlier?" he said.

"Umm... well... you see we..." said Boss trying to think of a reason.

"You have no idea, do you?" Hamtaro said in an annoyed voice.

"Well... no."

"'Sigh' no one mentions this to anyone" Hamtaro whispered.

"Right" the other two agreed.

Suddenly the center ring of the stump popped open like a cork. Panda stuck his head out of the new entrance. "Hey guys!" he said in a chipper voice. "Did I keep ya long?"

"What the- 'sigh' no just hand us the bag, alright?" Boss said in an annoyed tone.

"Alright, alright, just hold on" Panda said going back into the stump. After a few more minutes, panda came out of the hole with one end of some rope.

"What's with the rope" asked Boss.

"Satsu said his hockey bag is really heavy, so he told me we could use some rope in his place"

Panda tossed the rope at the others and they all grabbed it. They formed a line with the rope to pull it.

"Ok guys!" shouted Boss. "It's just like a game of tug-o-war!"

Hamtaro, Oxnard and Panda all nodded at Boss's statement.

"Alright guys! On three! 1...2...3!"

The Ham Hams pulled with all their might. The other end of the rope felt like it was tied to a tree. Finally, they felt something lift as they kept pulling. After a minute, the bag was out of the hole. It was all black with a long silver zipper.

"What... does... he... keep... in... there!" said Boss between breaths.

"We're... not done... yet" Panda panted. "We still... need to get... it on the wagon"

"Oh well... that's just great." Boss complained.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

After Boss, Hamtaro and Oxnard left, the clubhouse were pretty quiet for a while. Finally Sandy broke the awkward silence by clearing her throat. "Sooooo" she began. "Satsu, are you new around here?"

"Yes" he replied.

"Are you planning on living around here?"

"Yes"

"Well that's nice. We'll have a new friend, right guys?" she said looking at the other Ham Hams.

"No offence, but I barley know you people. So I can't really consider you my friends..."

Sandy frowned at Satsu's remark. "Alright then!" she exclaimed. "We'll just introduce ourselves! I'm Sandy!"

"I'm Stan"

"My name iz Bijou"

"I'm Pashmena"

"Howdy, I'm Howdy!"

"I am Dexter"

"See?" said Sandy. "Now we can be friends." Satsu smirked. "I guess so." He replied. "Of course there are a few Ham Hams missing but..." said Sandy, who stared at the door of the clubhouse that slowly creaked open. A black and white hamster emerged from the entrance and looked around the room. "Panda!" Panda jumped at the shout. "I thought you were going to stay home today!"

"I-I was but Mimi's parents took her to the movies, so I figured I'd come by."

"That's great!" said Sandy. "Oh right! Satsu meet Panda, Panda meet Satsu."

For reasons unknown to him, Panda froze when he looked at Satsu and couldn't process words. "OH CRAP!" yelled Satsu. Everyone jumped at Satsu's sudden outburst. "W-what?" asked Pashmena.

"I forgot to tell your fat... er... big friend how to get my bag."

"It can't be that difficult to go under a stump, right?" Pashmena asked.

"It is when there's only two entrances."

"Well what are we going to do?" asked Sandy, placing her elbow in her hand and resting her head on her other.

"I'LL GO!" Panda shouted.

'What's with all the yelling?' thought Satsu. "You'll need a wagon and some rope."

"O-ok"

Panda listened to every word Satsu told him, so he wouldn't mess up. "Got it!" said Panda.

"You know, I'm right in front of you, you don't have to yell." Satsu said.

"S-sorry"

With that Panda went out the door with one the wagons he had built in the past.

"Ok," said Sandy, with obvious irritation in her voice. "When they get your bag, you promise you'll tell us how you escaped from the cat?"

"I didn't 'escape' the cat." Satsu said.

"Then what _did_ you do?"

Satsu smirked again. "I'll tell you once I get my bag."

"ARRRG!" yelled Sandy in frustration.

"I have a question..." said Pashmena. Everyone stared at the scarfless hamster.

"Go ahead." Said Satsu in a calm voice.

"Why did you go from a rude and pushy to... to..."

"Normal?" Satsu finished Pashmena's sentence.

"Yeah"

"Well, I'm not a complete asshole all the time. Just when I wanna be." He said with a smile.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't use that language when Penelope or Cappy are here."

"Sorry, bad habits die hard. But to answer your question, that's just part of my personality. It's what makes me, well, me."

"Ok," Pashmena replied. "I'm just glad you don't do that 'tough guy' attitude just to impress people. It gets really annoying when people do that." Pashmena then looked over her shoulder at Dexter and Howdy.

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Yes I know Panda had what seemed like a shonen ai moment but get used to it. I'll do my best to keep updating.


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry about the late update. Enjoy.

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"So," Sandy started. "Why are your eyes, like, red?"

"I could tell you, but I just don't know you people well enough." Satsu answered in a blank tone.

"I thought you said you _weren't_ a jerk." Said Pashm_**i**_na.

"I said I'm not a complete asshole all the time" Satsu replied in the same tone. Pashmina stared at Satsu angrily. "What?" Satsu said. "Caffy and the other one you mentioned aren't here... are they?"

"Their names are Cappy and Penelope." Said Pashmina. "And no, they're not here at the moment. But I still don't like that language."

"Not my prob- huh?" Satsu's ears twitched. "Finally. It's about time."

"What's about ti-" Sandy was cut off by the Clubhouse door swinging open. Boss, Hamtaro, Oxnard and Panda pushed a wagon carrying a large, black hockey bag through the door. "What took you so long?" Satsu asked.

Boss glared at the red hamster, anger in his eyes. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US THIS THING WEIGHED A TON!!!" he yelled.

"We're inside, please use your inside voice." Satsu said calmly. "And besides, you didn't ask how much it weighed." Panda pushed the wagon towards Satsu. Hamtaro and Oxnard were holding Boss back from attacking Satsu. "H-here you g-go." Said Panda. "Thanks." Satsu replied.

"Oh! Y-you're welcome!" Panda shouted.

"You're yelling again." Satsu reminded.

"S-s-sorry." Panda stuttered.

Satsu grabbed the handle of the hockey bag and lifted it on the table. Boss stopped flailing his arms and looked at Satsu. "How'd you lift that thing?!" he yelled. Satsu ignored Boss and unzipped the bag. He pulled out a small device and started pressing buttons. "What's that?" Pashmina asked. "It's an MFD." Replied Satsu

"Wha?" Boss said

"A Multi, Functional, Device." Said Satsu.

"What's it do?"

"Ok." Satsu began. "I'll talk real slow this time. It's, are you still with me? A Multi, that means more than one. Functional, which means things it can do. Device, that is an electric system, any questions?"

"What does it do?" asked Pashmina.

"'Sigh' it allows me to send and receive messages, check where I am, and record messages." Satsu answered.

"Where'd you get it?" asked Boss.

"That's where I stop answering questions. I'm tired, hungry, and for some reason, I have a headache. Where do I sleep?"

"Uhh… how about…" Boss said. "On the table?"

"… You don't have any spare rooms, do you?"

"Weeeell… no"

"Fine. I'm going to sleep." Satsu said as he reached in his bag and pulled out a small, red pillow and red blanket."

"Wait!" yelled Sandy and Pashmina. Satsu looked at the two angrily as if to say 'you're yelling again.' "You still need a bath to get the blood off." said Pashmina. "And you STILL haven't told us how you got away from the cat!" shouted Sandy. At the mention of the cat, Boss, Hamtaro and Oxnard all jumped, remembering what they saw.

"'Sigh' OK!" yelled Satsu. "I'LL HAVE A BATH LATER! AND AS FOR THE CAT, I'LL TELL YOU IN A MINUET, OK!"

All the Ham Hams jumped at Satsu's yell, then nodded their heads. Satsu reached into his bag and pulled out a small bottle that read 'Aspirin' on the side in bolded, black letters. Satsu popped the lid of the bottle off and took out two pills shaped like disks the size of his pupils.

After swallowing the pills, Satsu began speaking. "Ok. My headache's gone, for now. Now I'd like you to get something straight. I did not 'get away' from the cat. No, I killed the thing." The room went dead silent. "This is how it happened…"

FLASH BACK

Satsu had just put his bag in the stump and decided to go for a walk. "So this is my new home." He said peacefully. As he walked he heard a rustling in the bushes. "'Sigh' show yourself." Satsu said, upset that his walk was interrupted. A tall black cat leaped out of the bush, claws bared, mouth open wide.

"Shit! I didn't expect that!" Satsu tried to jump away but the cat scooped him up in its mouth. The cat's front fang dug into Satsu's stomach. "AHHG!" Satsu screamed in pain. Suddenly the cat began to climb a nearby tree. By now, the cat was two stories high, sitting on a branch. Satsu reached into his sleeve and pulled out a hunting knife.

"Alright, I got one shot at this." He said while jabbing the knife into the cat's gums. "RAAAAR!" the cat screeched in pain, lifting its head up. Satsu began to fall down the cat's throat. "Shit, shit, shit!!!" he yelled sliding down the esophagus. "One more time!" Satsu stuck the knife on the slippery walls he was falling down.

Suddenly, the knife sliced into the throat causing blood to pool out. The throat suddenly tightened and Satsu felt himself being lifted up. The cat coughed and hacked causing Satsu to come flying out and heading straight towards the ground… two stories high. Satsu, who was falling with a small pool of blood behind him, opened his blood-covered eyes and saw how high he was.

"Oh shit. Oh shit! OH SHIT!!!" He panicked. "Wait, calm down. This is going to hurt but if I time this right, I'll survive… possibly." 'Ok,' he thought. 'Concentrate, Concentrate, Concentrate.' Satsu then stuck his left foot out and prepared for landing. He hit the ground and his foot let out a loud _CRACK!_ 'OK. THAT HURT LIKE HELL.' Satsu was now lying on his back.

"Well, things can't get wor-" he was interrupted by the pool of blood splattering on him. "…fuck…" he groaned, slowly closing his eyes. 'Shit, I haven't slept for so long. The soft grass, the cool wind…' the last thing he saw was the cats figure fall off the tree in a random direction. 'Heh, sorry buddy, maybe…next…time…' with that Satsu fell asleep.

END FLASHBACK

All the Ham Hams stared at Satsu in shock. "How…you…" Stan said.

"What did you expect?" asked Satsu. "Yeah, I killed an animal. It tried to kill me so I fought back. It had a choice, it could have left me alone, but it didn't, and now it's paying the price for its mistake. Maybe I could have run away, but I'm a fighter, and I intend to live." He said coldly.

"…I understand…" a voice said.

Satsu, as well as some of the Ham Hams, tried to see who spoke. Sandy stepped forward.

"Your right, it tried to hurt to hurt you and you just defended yourself." She said. Satsu smirked.

"Thanks Sandy." He said.

"So…" Sandy said.

"'What now?"

"How exactly did you learn how to…"

"Fight? That's another story, for another time." Satsu Said, lying down on his pillow and falling asleep.

Sandy pouted, not getting to hear another exciting story, and turned. It was 5:30 pm.  
"oh! We gota go!" she yelled grabbing Stan's hand and bolting out the door. The rest of the Ham Hams left as well, except for Pasmina who decided to wait outside the tunnel entrance. Hamtaro walked up to her confused. "Pashmina, why aren't you going home?" he asked.

"I have a suspicion about Satsu, so I'll stay here." She replied.

"But won't you catch a cold? I mean, you're not wearing your sweater."

"I'll be fine, you have goodnight Hamtaro."

"Ok, goodnight." He said cheerily, walking away.

Seven hours passed, Pashmina sat outside the tunnel entrance with nothing happening. Suddenly the door of the tunnel creaked open. Satsu slowly limped out holding his bag.

"I knew it!" yelled Pashmina, walking out of her hiding spot.

"You waited for me? Don't you have an owner?"

"She's on vacation with her family."

"How convenient."

"Yes it is. Now get back down there!" Pashmina ordered.

"And if I don't?"

"Well I'll just have to have a thorough search on this little thing." She replied, pulling out Satsu's MFD. Satsu's eyes widened.

"How the hell did you get that." He said in an incredibility angry tone.

"So who's L?" she said, not noticing Satsu's unusual tone. Satsu's eyes widened even more at the mention of the name Pashmina had said. Suddenly, Satsu grabbed Pashmina by the shoulders and swung her around him, pinning her to the tunnel's door.

"What. The fuck. Did you just say!?" he said in an even angrier tone then before, eyes flaring with anger.

"I-I-I-" Pashmina stuttered, taken aback by Satsu's actions. "L." Satsu's eyes were filled with pure anger now.

"If you tell anyone, and I mean ANYONE!..." Satsu stopped there and let go of Pashmina. The two stood in silence for what seemed like hours. "…I-I'm… sorry…" Satsu mumbled. "I'll go back down in the Clubhouse. Sorry." Satsu limped back down the tunnel entrance with his bag, not even bothering to get his MFD. Pashmina sat on the ground shaking.

'Why did he get so mad?' she thought, picking up the MFD and reading the 'messages sent' and selecting the one she read.

_To: L_

_i like My new home, it's greAt! really Really Cool and nOw! i dId forgot to Say last time that i diD Enjoy the Apples! i'm doomeD to fail aren't i? i dI'dn't Make ToAst, caKe, every fruIt juice, ballooNs, Goat milk, Tasty water or anytHing for that mattEr! oh Well, i nEed thE breaK. i'll gO Fill my Fat belly. c ya._

"I just don't get it…"

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I'm really sorry this came late. I was lazy and there's no excuse for that. For those of you who haven't played Assassins Creed, the message has a code to it. But I can't tell you what it is until later, sorry. You can go ahead and try to figure it out but please don't tell anyone on the reviews. Please don't. Well by.


	4. Chapter 4

I really enjoyed this chapter.

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Satsu tossed his bag on the table and walked over towards the small sink in the clubhouse's kitchen. He turned the tap on and walked to the corner of the clubhouse where a large sauce pot lay. The pot was big enough for Satsu to fit in like a bath.

He grabbed the large handle with both hands and began to drag the pot across the room. When he reached the sink, now steaming with hot water, he took the small hose attachment off the sink and started filling the pot with hot water.

While the hose was locked, Satsu limped towards a mirror in the other corner of the room. Satsu looked at his reflection with disgust. The blood on him was as dry as a bone. His red hoodie was wrinkled from the drying.

He grabbed the red zipped at the top of his sweater and jiggled it. "It's stuck... damn." He whispered. After fussing with the jammed zipper, the zipper finally came undone. Satsu peeled the hoddie off his crimson fur and tossed it aside.

He looked at his reflection and noticed his fur was mashed in, most likely from being wet and then drying in his sweater. He tried ruffling it, but the dried blood made his fur stick to itself. He sighed and turned to check on the bath when he noticed something. On his back was black oval with a small scar in the center, barley covered by fur.

Satsu sighed again. "I've come a long way from then…" he whispered in a somewhat hoarse voice. As he stood there, Satsu felt a stinging sensation in his eyes. '_I… promised… remember?_' Satsu snapped his head in the direction he thought he heard someone speak. There was nothing but shadows and the flicker of the small candle Boss left lit.

The stinging in his eyes grew worse. '_I'm… sorry… I wish we could have been together longer…_' Satsu turned his head to the mirror and realized the stinging in his eyes was the formation of tears. He squeezed his eyelids tight to stop the tears, but a small drop of water rolled down his cheek, collecting blood along the way.

The small, salty tear hung on the tip of his fury chin. The red drop fell and he caught it in his hand. He glanced at the tear for what seemed like minutes until the feeling of hot water touch his feet snapped him back to reality.

He stared at the pot over flowing with water. Satsu, tear still in hand, limped as fast as he could to the sink and turned the tap off. He limped towards his sweater and picked it up. He looked at the bloody water in his hand and clenched his fist letting the tear leek through the cracks of his fingers. "Damnit." He whispered to himself.

He then limped over to the pot and tossed his sweater on the table. Satsu grabbed the bottle of soap on the sink and slowly got into the pot. Once he was in, he noticed a pool of blood had come off him and surrounded his body. He sighed again as he applied the soap to his fur and began cleaning himself.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The next day, the first Ham Ham to enter the Clubhouse was Panda, who seemed very happy. Panda noticed Satsu sleeping on the table. Not wanting to disturb the sleeping hamster, Panda crept towards his work shop and closed the door to it behind him.

After an hour, Hamtaro, Oxnard, Bijou, Stan, Sandy, and Cappy entered the Clubhouse. "WHOA, WHOSE THAT?!" shouted Cappy, pointing at Satsu.

The other Ham Hams waved their arms, as if to say 'shut up, Shut up!' But it was too late. Satsu's blood red eyes shot open, red veins covering them, and got up out of his covers. Hamtaro and Oxnard ran out the door. Bijou hid behind Stan, who was trying to act macho, but after looking at Satsu's anger filled eyes, he hid behind Bijou.

Cappy looked up at the red hamster who was about a centimeter taller than him. "Sorry, did I wake you up?" Cappy said nervously. Satsu glared at the small Ham Ham, realizing it was younger than him. "It's ok," Satsu said through his teeth, patting Cappy on the head. "You were just asking a question. I'm Satsu."

"I'm Cappy!" Cappy replied cheerily. "Why are you here?"

"Pash… uhh… Pashmen will tell you" Satsu slurred. "But I have to sleep. So if you could _try_ to be _quiet_, I'd _really_ appreciate it."

"Heke?" said Cappy. Satsu then limped back to the table and rested his head on the pillow.

"I-is it safe to come out n-now?" asked Hamtaro from behind the door.

After that, the Clubhouse wasn't too active. Oxnard ate his sunflower seeds in the corner; Cappy was trying to figure out why his favorite sauce pot was wet, Bijou was playing with her bows, and Hamtaro, Stan, Sandy, Dexter, and Howdy were playing hide and seek. After an hour, the door to Panda's workshop swung open. Panda walked out, while carrying a small crutch, and walked over to Satsu. Panda set the crutch on the table and walked away to his work shop. Not many of the Ham Hams noticed this as they were too wrapped up in their fun.

"…Thanks…" mumbled Satsu. Panda froze at the door frame. "Y-y-your wel…come." Panda said, closing the workshop door.

Since he was up, and the Ham Hams were being too loud, Satsu decided to get off his 'bed'. He hopped off the table, landing on his right foot, and grabbed his new crutch. The crutch fit ok. It was a bit small, but at least he could walk better now.

Just then, Pashmina and Penelope walked into the room. Pashmina looked at Satsu, still a bit scared. "Oh! Satsu you're walking again…" she mumbled.

"Huh? Oh yeah, Panda made this for me." Satsu replied, tapping the crutch on the floor. Satsu looked up at the small clock hanging above Pashmina. It read '12:32'. "I wouldn't suppose this means I can go home now, does it?"

Pashmina smiled at the sarcasm in Satsu's voice and shook her head. "No, I still need my scarf back, remember? And I won't take it back until that ankle heals."

Satsu nodded and walked, for the first time in a while, over towards the two. "Penelope, this is Satsu******Taika. Satsu, this is Penelope."**

Satsu looked down at the small hamster in the yellow sheet. "Hello."

"OOKWII!" the little hamster shouted. Satsu flinched at the scream.

"Ukwee?" said Satsu.

"It's all she can say. Along with a few other words." Pashmina answered. Satsu smiled, hiding his discomfort, and patted Penelope on the head. The little hamster returned the smile.

"Hey, Pashmen?" Satsu said. Pashmina looked at him, raising her eye brow. "Since I can walk, can I go home?"

"It's Pashmina. And about your condition… I guess you can, but you should still stay off that leg."

Satsu smiled, for real, at her answer. "Thank you. To be honest, this place smells like shi-" Pashmina glared at him. "Shiiiiips. Chips! It smells like chips!" Penelope tilted her head in confusion. "And I don't like chips… so by…" he finished. Satsu walked over to the table and began to pack his stuff in his large hockey bag. When he was about to pick his bag up, Pashmina cleared her throat to get his attention.

"I never said you could carry heavy objects." She said.

"Then how am I supposed to get this to my house?"

"Leave it here, or stay."

"I'm not leaving it here. Uh, Boss, Hamta, Oxneed?" He said looking at the hamsters whose names he said incorrectly. The three shook their heads simultaneously. Satsu sighed. "Then I guess I'm with you guys now. So what is there to do?"

"Uh, well," Boss contemplated.

"We go hiking and go on adventures and stuff!" Cappy said.

"Hiking? Adventures?" Satsu questioned.

"Yeah, we go to all sorts of neat places and even make discoveries."

"That sounds… fun?" said Satsu.

The other Ham Hams went back to playing, while Pashmina and Satsu stood across the room from each other. Pashmina tried not to look at Satsu, but every now and then, she'd look his way, and he would be looking at her. She finally decided to break the tension between them. Pashmina stood from the stool she sat on and walked towards Satsu.

"You… forgot to get this…" she said handing him his MFD.

"Thanks." Satsu said, smiling. Pashmina returned the gesture.

Pashmina looked at him with a questioning expression.

"What?"

"Um, did you take a bath?" Pashmina said.

"What?"

"Did you tak-"

"Yeah, I did, why?"

"Why is your fur still red?"

"Huh?" said Satsu looking at himself. "Oh, it's always been that color."

"What? How is that even possible?" asked Pashmina. Satsu didn't answer. He just sat on the small chair and looked at Pashmina as if she hadn't asked the question. Pashmina could feel the tension between them rise. She decided not to bother asking again and walked back to her spot in the corner.

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Thanks for reading.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry this one's late but the next ones PRETTY long so please read and review.

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It had been four days since Satsu 'decided' to stay. He slept most of the days away, and when he was awake, it was usually because he wanted to ask Pashmina if he could go home. He had finally memorized all of the Ham Hams names. The only Ham Ham he hadn't met was Maxwell.

The fifth day started off pretty normal. Panda was the first to arrive and would immediately go to his work shop. Boss would wake up and eat breakfast. Pashmina would arrive with Penelope to check on Satsu's condition. Then the other Ham Hams would come in at random times and in random orders. Cappy was the last to arrive.

"Hiya, Satsu!" said Cappy to a now just awake Satsu.

"Oh, Cappy, how nice to see you, while I'm sleeping." Satsu replied, trying not to get mad at the kid hamster.

"Sorry, but, Maxwell's coming here today and I thought I'd tell you."

"Who?"

"Maxwell," said Cappy. "He's really smart and has lots of books and stuff."

"And why should I care?" said Satsu. Pashmina glared at him from across the room. "I mean, I can't wait to meet him." Cappy smiled and went about his business.

The door to the Clubhouse opened a half hour later. In walked a tall, brown and white hamster holding a book.

"Ham-ha!" said Maxwell. The other Ham Hams returned his greeting. Maxwell looked at Satsu in confusion. "So I'm guessing you're the hamster Sandy told me about, the one who rendered a feline unconscious?"

Satsu glared at Maxwell. "I didn't 'render' it 'unconscious', I killed it…" said Satsu.

"Right, I knew that." Maxwell said walking over to the table. He placed the book in his arm on the table and opened it up. All the Ham Hams gathered around Maxwell to look at the book. "Everyone, we are going to the beach! My owner is going to a beach tomorrow and for three days, and since I get to choose where we go next, I decided we could go along!" all the Ham Hams were ecstatic at Maxwell's announcement.

"All right!" shouted Cappy.

"This is gonna be great!" said Sandy.

"I bet you'll love the sand, _Sandy_, ha ha ha!" said Howdy, laughing. All the Ham Hams went silent.

"Howdy, your sense of humor is like the sand, dry." Satsu Said. All the Ham Hams, except Howdy, started laughing.

"Where did that come from?" asked Pashmina, still laughing.

"I told you, I'm not a jerk 24/7, just when I have to be." Satsu said smiling. "By the way, can I go home?"

Pashmina smiled. "No." Satsu sighed and sat back on the table. His foot had healed pretty well over the days. He still needed to use the crutch, but, it wasn't as painful when he used his foot as it used to be. His stomach wound had healed up completely. He laid down on the table and threw his covers over himself. "Oh no you don'!" Pashmina pulled the covers off and threw them across the room. "I told you yesterday, you have to go for a walk every day to get a bit of weight on that foot."

"Can I walk home?"

Pashmina stared at Satsu.

"Never mind."

"Alright, who is going to go with Satsu to make sure he doesn't get lost?" asked Pashmina.

"I'm not a baby." Said Satsu.

Suddenly, the door to the Clubhouse opened up. At the door was a female hamster none of the Ham Hams had seen before. She was a tiger hamster like Sandy and Stan. She was wearing an orange T-shirt and had blue eyes. She also had a small, black leather belt with holsters on both sides.

"Uh, hello?" said the hamster.

"Hi, can we help you?" asked Sandy.

"Yeah, um, I think this is the right place. Uh, is Satsu Taika here?"

All the Ham Hams looked at Satsu who looked he had seen a ghost.

"Satsu! I thought I'd find you here. Where have you been?" asked the hamster, walking across the room towards Satsu.

Satsu swallowed a lump in his throat. "I don't remember telling you to find me at all…" he replied.

"Aww, don't treat me that way! Is it so bad if a friend decides to visit you?" asked the hamster in an innocent tone.

"You're not my friend."

"You're such a meanie!" exclaimed the hamster.

"Sorry for asking but, who are you?" asked Pashmina.

"Hm? Oh I'm sorry. My names Lily" said Lily, bowing. What are your names?"

A few introductions later…

"Hey Satsu, lest go outside." Said Lily.

"Sure…" answered Satsu.

"Wait!" said Pashmina. "Someone should come too to make sure your ok."

"Its fine" said Satsu.

"But I don't thin-"

"It's. Fine." Satsu said in a very serious tone. Pashmina shrugged and sat down. Satsu and Lily walked out of the Clubhouse.

Outside, Satsu and Lily stood in front of a large tree near the tunnel entrance.

"Alright, what the hell does L want?" asked Satsu.

"Must we talk business right away?" asked Lily in an innocent tone. Satsu glared at Lily angrily. "What are you doing here?" Lily said in a serious tone.

"Is that what he wants?"

"One of the things he and all of us want to know." Lily replied.

"If you haven't noticed, my ankle is broken."

"That's nothing." Lily said.

"What else does L want?" asked Satsu.

Lily handed Satsu a letter and said nothing. She began to walk away but stopped a few feet from Satsu. "You shouldn't get comfy here. You shouldn't get comfy anywhere…" she said. Lily then continued walking. Satsu watched her until she was just a dot in his vision and then disappeared. Satsu opened the letter and began reading it. As his eyes scrolled the words written down, Satsus eyes widened.

"Why now?" Satsu whispered, crumpling the letter up and stuffing it in his hoodie pocket.

Back in the Clubhouse, things were a little tense. All the Ham Hams were silent. Pashmina sat in the chair Satsu had been sitting in before Lily showed up.

'Why did Satsu get so mad all of a sudden?' she thought. 'He looked at me the same way he did the night I read the message in his MFD…' "What was so important about that message?" she said aloud.

"Okwii?" said Penelope, who was next to Pashmina.

Pashmina jumped, realizing she had spoken out loud. "Oh, Penelope, I didn't see you there."

"Okwii?"

"I'm fine, just thinking." Pashmina reassured the small hamster.

Just then, Satsu walked in, letter in his hoodie pocket. All the Ham Hams gathered around him.

"What was that about?" asked Dexter.

"Yeah, you looked pretty mad." Said Hamtaro.

"Guys, I'm fine." Said Satsu. "I just had to talk to a… friend, it's nothing."

"But you were zo mad!" said Bijou.

"I'm fine, really."

"But-"

I'm. Fine." Satsu said in a reassuring voice. "I just don't like talking to her."

"Alright…" said Pashmina. "So do you still need to walk?"

"I'd love to." Satsu said.

"So who's going to look after Satsu?"

"I-I will…" Panda said raising his hand nervously.

"Ok, so you know what to do if Satsu gets hurt?"

"It's not like I'm going to have a heart attack." Satsu mumbled.

"I h-help him up and t-try to get him close to the Clubhouse?" asked Panda.

"Right!" said Pashmina.

"Alright, let's go. I want to be back before its dark." Satsu said in a bored tone.

Panda and Satsu walked out of the Clubhouse. On their walk, Panda and Satsu started talking.

"By the way, thanks again for the crutch." said Satsu.

"n-no problem, I like making useful things…"

"No, I mean it, it works great. We should hang out in the workshop sometime; I like wood and metal working too."

"T-that sounds gr-great…" Panda replied.

"By the way, why do you stutter around me?"

"W-w-what? I-I don't st-stutter!"

"Panda…" Satsu said looking at Panda.

"I don't know, you're just very intimidating I guess."

"Well I hope that will change, you're a good friend." Satsu said.

"O-oh, well, th-thank you…"

"So what else do you like other then craftsmanship?" asked Satsu.

"I guess I enjoy exorcize and a bit of reading."

"Let me guess, 'how to' books?" Satsu said jokingly. Panda and Satsu laughed at the small joke for a minute.

"Yeah, I guess that's all I do read." Panda replied.

"But you know what else is funny?" asked Satsu.

"What?"

"You stopped stuttering." Satsu replied. Both hamsters went silent then doubled over laughing.

"What were we laughing at again?" Panda asked between laughs.

"I don't remember. Something about your obsession with wood, or at how weird your laugh is!"

"My laugh?" Panda said. "You sound like your hyperventilating!"

"Oh yeah?" Said Satsu said. "You sound like a drunken leprechaun!"

The two continued their laughing all the way back to the Clubhouse. When they entered, only Pashmina, Boss, Snoozer and Penelope were there. All the remaining Ham Hams, except Snoozer, gave the two laughing hamsters strange looks.

______________________________________________________________________________

I wanted to have a nice moment for Satsu and Panda in this chapter. I also had to wedge a lot of things in here to make room for the next chapter. And I know you may think it's out of character for Satsu to laugh, but later on you'll find out about that.


	6. Chapter 6

It took long but here it is 5870 words! Also, Satsu sings a song in this chapter. The link is on my profile. I highly recommend listening to the song while reading the part, it really helps put the image in your head.

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5:00 AM.

In the Clubhouse, everything was quiet. Satsu was sleeping peacefully on the table. However, in his mind, Satsu was having a nightmare. In his nightmare, Satsu saw a familiar hamster from his past.

The hamster had bluish gray fur and brown eyes. The hamster was holding a long sword and had an evil grin on his face. Satsu tried to run towards the hamster, but Satsu's feet felt as if they were glued to the ground.

The blue hamster began to wave the sword in random directions. With each slash, the sword drew blood from nowhere. The blood splattered everywhere, especially on Satsu. Satsu struggled to move, but it felt like the more he struggled, the more stuck he became.

The blue hamster began to laugh manically. He then threw the sword at Satsu. Finally, Satsu felt the hold on his feet was gone and made a mad dash away from the sword, but no matter where he ran, the sword seemed to follow Satsu.

The sword got closer and closer with each step Satsu took. Satsu jumped to the ground. Satsu felt the sword prick his back, but not a lot. He could feel the sword was an inch in his back. Suddenly, a stream of blood began to trickle down Satsu's body. The blood didn't belong to him. Satsu tried to look at the source of the blood, but he couldn't move his head.

"Don't let this make you into a hard person. Please..." said a voice from behind.

Satsu felt himself being shacked.

Suddenly, Satsu jumped from the table, grabbed whoever it was shaking him, pulled a hunting knife out of his sleeve, and held it to the persons throat. As Satsu's eyes adjusted to the lights, he could make out the details of the person he was holding.

Tan and white fur, blue eyes, Pashmina. Satsu's eyes softened and he loosened his grip on Pashmina.

"I-I'm sorry…" he said letting Pashmina go. "I thought you were someone else…"

"W-who?" Pashmina said, scared.

"No one…."

"But you seemed so m-mad."

"Just forget about it, ok?"

"O-ok…" Pashmina said awkwardly. "But where did that knife come from?"

Satsu slid the knife back up his sleeve. "Secret pocket." He replied.

"But why-"

"Could we play twenty questions later?" Satsu said annoyed.

"Oh. Ok…"

"Look." Satsu said holding his head. "I'm really tired and I have a head ach. So I'm sorry if I seem like an…" Satsu looked around the room. "Asshole."

"Ok, I forgive you. And thanks for making sure Penelope wasn't here."

"No problem. Now, why is it you decided to wake me up at…" Satsu looked at the clock. "5:32 AM?! YOU WOKE ME UP AT FIVE AM?! SOMEONE BETTER BE DEAD!"

Pashmina smiled at Satsu's grumpiness. "We're going on a trip, remember?" she said giggling.

"ARG!" Satsu yelled.

"Come on lazy." Pashmina said smiling. Pashmina grabbed Satsu's hand and pulled him off the table, not remembering his foot. Satsu landed on the floor with feet. Both Satsu and Pashmina looked at Satsu's foot.

Satsu's eye twitched at the pain. Pashmina backed up and covered her ears. The only thing she heard before plugging her ears was, "MOTHER FU-"

Pashmina grabbed Satsu's crutch and handed it to him after he was done yelling. Satsu was clenching his fists, trying to ignore the pain. Pashmina giggled a little, and then started to completely laugh. Satsu looked at her angrily.

"What the hell's so damn funny?!" he said.

"You!" Pashmina replied. "You're so stupid sometimes, you know that?"

"Oh, well, I'm _so_ glad I can entertain you!"

"Come on, we have to meet everyone at Maxwell's." Pashmina said, still laughing.

"Ok I'll meet you outside; I have to pack a few things."

"Ok, but nothing too heavy, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah." Satsu said while walking to his bag. Pashmina left the Clubhouse entrance and waited. Satsu unzipped his bag. He took out a small red bag. It was ¼ the size as the hockey bag. Satsu quickly stuffed some items from his hockey bag into his smaller bag.

He then pulled out what looked like a stick wrapped in a tan cloth. The wrapped stick was about an inch longer then Satsu. Satsu continued to pack things up until he had a small bag in each hand. When Satsu left the room, he saw Pashmina leaning against the wall.

"What took you so long?" she asked.

"I had to pack a few things, remember?" Satsu replied.

"That's all you're taking?"

"Just the necessities."

"Well let's go, we have to be in Maxwell's owner's car by six thirty." Pashmina said, walking towards the tunnel entrance.

"His owner's car? How we gonna do that?"

"You'll see."

After walking for a few minutes, Satsu and Pashmina arrived at 'Renoir's Book Store'. Outside the store was a small silver mini-van with the front door open. At the door, there was a small rope that led from the van to the ground.

"Well, start climbing." Pashmina said. "You need to go to the very back. Panda and a few others should be there."

"Aren't you coming too?" Satsu asked.

"I have to get Penelope." Said Pashmina, walking away. "We'll be back soon. Why don't you get some sleep?"

"Sounds good." Satsu said in a groggy voice.

Satsu climbed up the rope watching his luggage carefully. After reaching the car floor, Satsu walked under the car seats to the back. In the back, which was stuffed with large bags, most likely the humans, Panda was sleeping on a small pillow.

Satsu decided to sit against the luggage wall near his friend and sleep. He propped himself up against a black duffle bag. Satsu was hesitant to close his eyes after remembering his nightmare, but he was exhausted and tired, so he fell asleep.

Satsu woke up several hours later to Pashmina shaking him. He looked around to see all the Ham Hams were in the car. About half of them were awake.

"Satsu?" said Pashmina. "Are you awake?"

"I am now…" Satsu said in a tired voice. "What time is it?"

"1:30 PM." Pashmina replied.

"Where are we?"

"An hour from our destination."

"Ok. Is there a reason you woke me?" asked Satsu.

"I need to see your ankle." Pashmina replied.

Satsu moved his injured foot near Pashmina, who began to unwrap her scarf from Satsu's leg.

"Does it hurt here?" Pashmina asked, pressing lightly on a spot on Satsu's foot.

"No." Satsu replied.

"Here?"

"No."

"He-"

"Yes! Yes! That really ffffffreeking hurts!" Satsu said in a strained voice.

Pashmina wrapped her scarf around Satsu's ankle, but did not add the small metal pole.

"The bones are back together, but not completely fixed. Also, your ankle is swollen. But you won't need the pole to keep you bones strait." Pashmina diagnosed.

"So how long will it be before I can walk again?"

"I don't know." Pashmina answered. "Could be days, weeks, months. You may never walk again for all I know."

"Thanks for giving it to me softly." Satsu said sarcastically. So where exactly are we going to be staying?"

"There's an underground rodent inn near the beach."

"Oh, well, I'm really glad were considered rodents."

"Stop complaining. It cost Maxwell a lot of money to pay for the reservations." Pashmina said.

"What's there to do there?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"'Sigh' hopefully there'll be a bar."

"Wait, you drink?" Pashmina said.

"Not usually, just when I'm upset."

"And what would you have to be upset about?"

Satsu didn't answer. He just stared at Pashmina blankly. He then laid on the car floor and closed his eyes. Pashmina stared at Satsu in confusion. She then turned to sleep herself.

Satsu was woken again a few hours later.

"Come on Satsu, we have to go." Said Panda.

"Are we there? What time is it?" Satsu said in a groggy voice.

"Yeah, now come on. Oh and its 5:30." Panda said while pulling Satsu's arm.

Satsu sat up and grabbed his things. Panda lead him to the back door of the minivan. The door was wide open and was partly filled with luggage. Panda jumped down onto the sand. He made a waving motion to Satsu.

"Uhh, how do I jump down if my legs messed up?" Satsu asked.

"Umm, I'll catch you?" Panda shouted.

"Ok, this is stupid." Satsu said to himself before jumping off.

Satsu landed on Panda.

"Panda? You ok?"

"Just… fine." Panda said in pain. "Now let's go meet the others at the inn."

Satsu followed Panda a long ways. They came upon a small cave on the other side of the beach. Inside the cave, behind a small rock was a fairly large hole.

"Come on." Panda said, jumping in the hole.

"Great, more jumping." Satsu said sarcastically.

Satsu jumped down the hole. The wind screamed in his ears as he fell faster and faster. He then saw a light at the bottom. Satsu closed his eyes and braced himself for impact. Still waiting for broken bones, Satsu opened his eyes to find himself on the ground, wind still screaming in his ears. He looked down to see he was standing on a cage wall. Under the steel cage wall was an electric fan spinning. Satsu looked around him. The room he was in was lit by four candles hung on the walls. At the end of the room was a reception desk. Behind the desk was a brown hamster with black ears, wearing a bellhop hat. Behind the desk clerk was a tunnel. Beside Satsu was Panda holding on to his chest and breathing heavily.

"Man, I didn't think that'd work…" Panda muttered.

Satsu looked at Panda with anger. "You didn't think- Panda; I may just have to kill you for that." Satsu said, half serious.

"Heh heh, sorry about that, but there's two ways to get here. Ones the leap of faith, the others on the other side of that cave we were in. I chose the fastest way."

"Panda I'm gonna… forget it, let's just check in." Satsu said in an irritated voice.

"Hello, do you have a reservation?" the desk clerk asked.

"Yeah, were staying under the name 'Ham Hams'." Panda said.

"Ah yes. You must be Satsu and Panda, correct?"

"Yes that's us."

"Your room numbers are 234 and 235. Can I get somebody to carry your luggage?"

"No thank you." Said Satsu. "I'm fine on my own."

The desk clerk nodded and handed Satsu and Panda a set of keys. They walked down the tunnel behind the desk clerk, counting the rooms the saw. After a few minutes, they finally came to rooms 234 and 235.

"I'll have 234." Satsu mumbled.

"Ok."

Satsu unlocked the door to his room and stepped in. the room was fair sized. On the wall that connected to Panda's room was a two person bed. Beside the bed was a mantle with a lamp. On the other side of the room was a small desk with a chair. There was a door on the right side of the room that led to the bathroom.

Satsu threw his bags on to the bed and walked out of his. Satsu looked down the long hall of doors.

"I'm going for a walk." He said to Panda through the door.

"Can I come?" Panda asked, stepping out of his door. But there was no one there. "Satsu?"

As Satsu walked down the hall, he noticed the signs on the walls. One of the signs was a map. Satsu walked up to the map and started reading it.

"Hamster beach?" Satsu said aloud. "They have a hamster beach? Dining rooms, lounge, bar, swimming pool… bar?" Satsu pulled out the letter Lily gave him the other day. He read it over and looked at the map. He found the nearest bar and began walking toward its direction.

When Satsu found the bar, he walked in and took a seat the counter. The bar was fairly small. It had only seven tables and a counter to sit at. The bartender walked towards Satsu from behind the counter.

"What'll ya have?" the bartender asked.

"Gin." Satsu said in a calm voice.

"Ok, I'll need some I.D."

"Here." Satsu said, handing the bartender a small card. The card had a small picture of Satsu and stated he was 23.

"I'll get your gin sir." The bartender said, handing Satsu his I.D.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

'Where is he?' Pashmina asked herself. Pashmina had spent two hours looking for Satsu just to ask him to go swimming. 'Why does he have to be so mysterious? It doesn't make sense. Can't he just be honest? Wait, why do I care? He's rude, insensitive, bad mouthed, sarcastic, I guess he's funny. He's also kind, and he doesn't swear that much. His manners are better than some people I know. Why am I thinking of him like this? It doesn't make sense.' Pashmina looked up to see Panda wandering around.

"Hey." Pashmina called. Panda turned to her. "Have you seen Satsu?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing." Panda said.

"Where was he last?"

"Well, he told me he was going for a walk, I went to join him but he was gone. Later I saw him reading some letter, and then he looked at the map and walked off. He seemed kind of upset. I couldn't follow him since he looked too depressed to hangout. Why?"

"I think I know where he is." Pashmina said. "Can you take me to the map you saw him at?"

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Pashmina and Panda arrived at the bar in a half hour. "Are you sure he's here?" Panda asked.

"He told me he drinks when he's upset." Pashmina said while scanning the bar. She spotted Satsu sitting at the counter, 15 glasses of gin and vodka near him. "What the hell are you doing?!" Pashmina asked angrily, running up to Satsu.

"I'm drinking genius, what does it look like?" Satsu said in a slurred voice. "Barkeep! Another glass of vodka!"

"Uh, I think you've had enough." The bartender said in a worried voice.

"I've had enough when I'm so drunk, I can't see your ugly face. Now give me another glass of vodka!" Satsu demanded.

"Don't give him another, please. We'll take him back to his room." Pashmina said, grabbing Satsu's arm and swinging it around her shoulder.

"I'm fine, honest." Satsu said.

"Panda, get his other arm." Pashmina instructed.

"Yes." Panda replied while getting Satsu's other arm.

"Has he paid for his drinks?" Pashmina asked the bartender.

"His companies tab is handling it." Said the bartender.

"Company?" Pashmina asked.

"Yeah, he told me to put his charges under his company credit Card." replied the bartender, handing Pashmina a small black and gold card.

"Thanks, sorry for the trouble." Said Pashmina.

Pashmina and Panda carried Satsu back to his room. Pashmina laid Satsu on his bed on his side.

"One of us needs to make sure he stays on his side in case he throws up." She said.

"I'll do it." Panda volunteered.

"Ok, I'll come back in an hour. Make sure he doesn't get up. And order some water for him. And hold his ears back if he throws up. And-"

"Pashmina, I can handle it." Panda said in a reassuring voice.

"Ok, just remember to-" Panda glared at Pashmina which shut her up.

Pashmina walked out of the room. Panda looked at Satsu who was smiling with his eyes half opened.

"Don't think cause I'm drunk, that you can take advantage of me." Satsu slurred.

"Wh-wh-what?!" Panda said completely shocked at what Satsu said.

"Yeah, I'm not 'hic' not don't think I'll answer any questions."

"Oh you meant questions." Panda said calming down.

"What did you think I me-"

"Nothing." Panda said quickly.

"You're a good 'hic' friend, you know that?" Satsu said.

It's hard to take what you say seriously when your drunk." Panda said the last three words quietly.

Satsu turned on his back, which made Panda stand up. "You have to stay on your si-"

"Relax, I'm not that drunk." Satsu said in a normal voice. Panda was a bit shocked that Satsu was fine. "Sometimes, I don't know. I just get depressed."

"W-why?" Panda asked.

"My life hasn't _exactly_ been sunshine and rainbows."

"What happened to make you so…"

"Hard?"

"Yeah."

"A lot of things. I've lost people I care about." Satsu said while closing his eyes

Panda was shocked that Satsu had told him so much.

"You're probably wandering why I'm telling you so much."

Panda jumped. 'Is he reading my mind?' Panda thought.

"And no, I'm not reading your mind."

Panda jumped again.

"The reason is that you're the closest thing I have to a best friend. I trust you." Satsu said turning.

"Satsu I…" Panda said. Panda looked at a small mirror on the night stand and saw that for some reason he was blushing. "Satsu, your what I consider a best friend too. All the Ham Hams never notice me unless I build something for them. But you…you don't ask anything from me."

"Satsu?" Panda asked. Panda looked closer at Satsu and realized he was asleep. "Good night." Panda smiled putting the covers over Satsu.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Satsu woke the next morning with a head ach. "Aww, too much gin." Satsu groaned as he threw his arm on the nightstand. After grabbing some aspirin from the nightstand, Satsu noticed a map with a note on the back.

_Went to pool with Pashmina and the others. Come see us later._

_Panda._

"Swimming? Why not." Satsu got out of his bed but sat back down. "Ow, ow. Pills haven't kicked in yet." After Satsu was sure that his head ach was gone, he slowly climbed out of his bed and read the map. On the map there was a circle on a certain area, most likely where his friends were.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

At the pool, all of the Ham Hams were swimming and playing happily. Some of them stopped when Satsu walked in.

"Hey, Satsu!" called Sandy. "Come on in, the water's fine!"

Satsu looked around the pool area for a while. "Where are the other guests?" he asked.

"their all at the beach." Explained Pashmina. "No one uses the pools in the summer unless it's raining."

Satsu took a sigh of relief and unzipped his hoodie. He threw it on a nearby chair and walked slowly into the pool. Pashmina was the first to notice the spot on Satsu's back.

"Satsu, what's with that black oval on your back?" she asked.

Satsu sighed in frustration. "It's nothing, just my fur pattern." He said.

"Ok, if you say so…" Pashmina said.

"Hey, Satsu!" called Cappy. "Wanna play Marco polo?"

"Sure, why not."

While Satsu played with Cappy and the others, Pashmina sat on the side, staring into space.

"Pashmina?" said a voice. Pashmina turned to see Panda with a worried look on his face. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Well, you don't seem fine."

"I'm just worried about Satsu."

"Why? He seems fine, kind of happy."

"Yeah, I know, but…"

"But what?"

"He drinks when he's upset, right?"

"Right, why?"

"Well, I was wondering what made him upset enough to make him drink so much. What could drive him to do that? What did you say happened last night?"

Panda nodded in agreement. "I saw him read some letter, and then he got upset and walked off." Pashmina stared at Panda.

"A letter?"

"Yeah, it was a little crinkled from what I saw."

"You don't think he'd leave it in his room, do you?"

"Pashmina, I don't like where this is going." Panda said.

"But aren't you curious about what could make him so sad?"

"Yeah but…"

Pashmina hopped out of the pool. "Well, come with me." She whispered. Panda hesitated, but then he too got out of the pool to follow Pashmina.

Panda opened the door to Satsu's room with the key he had. Inside, Satsu's spare sweater was left on his bed. Pashmina and Panda walked to the bed. Pashmina picked up the sweater and searched the pockets. She pulled out a crumpled up letter from his right pocket. The two began reading the letter.

_To Red,_

_Sanban will be in Kenster Park on Saturday night._

_L_

"I wonder who Sanban." Said Pashmina.

Well," said Panda. "We'll just have to wait until Saturday."

Pashmina put the letter back together and placed in the sweater's left pocket. The two then left the room to go back to the pool.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

When they got to the pool, Pashmina and Panda saw everyone was gathered around a wall, looking at something. When they got a closer look, they saw that the Ham Hams were reading a poster.

_MOLE BROTHER'S TEST OF COURAGE!_

_Come test your courage tonight at tunnel four at the rodent inn. Explore the aMAZing MAZE the mole brothers have dug for the summer. Must be in at least a group of four or two. 12:00 AM._

"Sounds like fun, huh?" Hamtaro said to Boss. Boss looked at Bijou and blushed.

"It sounds great!" he said, giving the thumbs up.

"Ookwii?" said Penelope.

"No Penelope," said Pashmina. "You can't go because it's past your bedtime."

"OOKWII!" Penelope flailed her arms in anger.

"You'll get scared." Penelope continued to flail. "You'll be tired in the… 'Sigh' fine, you can come." Pashmina said.

Satsu looked at Pashmina. "So you'll let a little girl go with you to a late night horror competition, but you won't let me go home?" Pashmina smiled at Satsu.

"She has a place in my heart; it can be hard to say no."

Satsu sighed and walked away. "If you need me, and you better not, I'll be at the ba-ed. Bed."

Pashmina and Panda looked at each other. They knew _exactly_ where he was going. Without a second thought, Pashmina bolted towards Satsu and pushed him in the water. Satsu popped his head out of the pool and looked at Pashmina with anger.

"You're not going anywhere near that place this early in the morning." She said. "There are children present."

Satsu sighed again and got out of the pool. "Ok, I won't drink today." He said.

"Thank you." Pashmina said.

"By the way,"

"What?" Pashmina asked.

"Personinthepoolsayswhat?"

"wha-" before Pashmina could answer; Satsu grabbed her arm and swung her around him and into the pool.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The tunnel entrance was decorated with paper ghosts and goblins. The Ham Hams, as well a few other guests, broke into groups. Hamtaro was with Oxnard. Boss was, to his delight, with Bijou and, to his dissatisfaction, Cappy. Stan was with Sandy, who refused to let him team up with anyone else due to his behavior towards women.

Maxwell was with Howdy and Dexter, who were fighting over who'd go with Pashmina. Pashmina was with Penelope, and Satsu was with Panda. A large mole walked in front of the animals and gestured for their attention.

"Hello," he started. "It's great to see so many new faces here! My name is Doeju, and I will be telling you the rules of the test-o-courage. First: no one is allowed in without a partner. Second: there is to be no physical violence in the tunnels. Third: you can scare other teams, but you cannot cause any sort of damage to them, or their belongings.

Now for the competition. Each team will go into the tunnel at different times. The point is to be the first team out of the exit will be the winners. After an hour from the winner's exit, the mole brothers will search and find anyone left inside. Now please draw numbers from the basket."

All the teams took numbers and entered the tunnel at different times. The first Ham Ham team to enter was Boss' team, then Sandy's, Maxwell's, Pashmina's, Hamtaro's then Satsu's. Each team was given a small torch and flashlight before entering.

"It's pretty dark…" Panda commented.

"I guess." Satsu muttered.

"Are you afraid of anything?" Panda asked jokingly. Satsu laughed.

"I don't think so."

The two walked in darkness for hours. Even the light from the torch wasn't enough for them to see that well.

Suddenly, Satsu's ear twitched as he threw a hunting knife towards the dark. The two heard a light squeak. Satsu shun more light on the direction and saw his knife a millimeter away from a rabbit's head. The rabbit was part of one of the teams.

"Oh, uh, sorry." Satsu apologized. "Reflexes."

After that incident, Satsu and Panda continued their walk.

"So…" Panda said.

"I'm sorry you had to see me like that."

"Huh?"

"That's what's been on your mind all day, right?" asked Satsu.

"Yeah, how'd yo-"

"Panda, you're my best friend, I can tell when you're upset."

Panda was taken aback. He thought that what Satsu said to him the night before was due to the alcohol.

"I know I was drunk, but I can recall most of what happened. Thanks, by the way."

"n-no problem" Panda replied.

"So what's your relationship with the other Ham Hams?" Satsu asked.

"Not too big." Panda responded. "I was invited to join the clubhouse by Pashmina. Before that, Pashmina was my only friend."

"That must have driven you insane."

"Whys that?" Panda asked.

"To not have any contact with anyone but one hamster for so long. I'd be fine, but, any other hamster would go crazy with a life like that."

"What do you mean 'you'd be fine'?"

"I'm used to being alone." Satsu replied. "I have been for years, and someday, I'll probably be alone again."

"Whys that?"

"My job requires me to travel a lot."

"What do you do?" Panda asked.

"I'm sorry Panda, but I can't tell you that, even if we're best friends."

"That's fine." Panda said in understanding. "You don't have to tell me."

"Thanks. What the?" Satsu said.

"What?"

"Look" Satsu said pointing to a small wooden door. "Do you think this is the exit?"

"Only one way to find out." Panda opened the door and the two entered. The room was another tunnel. As soon as Panda released his grip on the door, it slammed shut. The two hamsters tried to open it again, but found that the door handle was missing.

"Great." Panda said, sitting on the ground. "Now what?"

"Shh." Satsu said. "Do you hear that?"

Panda perked his ears up to listen better. In the distance, was a faint sound.

"Let's go." Satsu said picking Panda off the ground by the hand. "That sound sounds familiar."

As the two got closer to the sound, they could make out what it was. Whimpering. When they got closer, they heard another sound, it was a thunder storm. When they got even closer, they found another door. They opened it to see Pashmina holding Penelope in a hug.

Pashmina snapped her head towards Satsu and Panda.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked.

"We could ask you the same question." Said Satsu. "What is this place?"

"It's an entertainment room." Pashmina said.

As Satsu and Panda's eyes adjusted to the room, they saw more details of the room. There was a stage with a microphone and amp. There were no tables, most likely meaning it was a new room. And in the center was a black and white grand piano.

Satsu looked at the two girls.

"What's wrong with Penelope?" he asked.

"She's afraid of thunder and lightning." Pashmina responded.

Penelope dug herself into Pashmina's fur when a flash of lightning flashed from the glass windows. Penelope was crying quietly as the rain hit the windows.

"How do we get out?" asked Satsu.

"The doors are locked."Pashmina said. "I could pick the locks with some wire I brought along for a prank in the competition, but I can't leave Penelope like this."

Satsu sighed and put his hand in his pocket. He pulled out his MFD and started pushing buttons.

"What are you doing?" Pashmina asked.

"I'm going to help you." Satsu said as he stopped pressing buttons and his eyes scrolled the screen of the device. "Who can play the piano?" no one answered. "Fine." Satsu said in an annoyed tone.

Satsu walked over to Pashmina.

"You can pick the lock." He said.

"I can't unless Penelope's fine."

"Give her to me." Satsu said.

"Why?"

"Are we going to wait until the storm dies down, which won't be for what looks like an hour, or are you going to let me help?"

Pashmina looked at Satsu for a moment before standing up, Penelope still holding on.

"Penelope." Pashmina said in a quiet voice. The small hamster looked up with tear soaked eyes. "I'm going to get us out of here, but I need you to be with Satsu, ok?"

"Ookwii!" said Penelope in protest.

"Please do this for me?" Pashmina said in a calm voice.

Penelope looked at Satsu for a minute before letting go of Pashmina. Satsu kneeled down and offered the small hamster a place to cling to. Penelope clung to Satsu as another crack of thunder went off. Satsu stood up and walked over to the piano and sat down at its bench. Penelope sat on his lap and held on to him for dear life as Satsu's hands moved the cover off of the piano keys. Satsu began playing a soft tune on the piano and began to sing in a soft voice.

_Little child, be not afraid.  
Though rain pounds harshly against the glass,  
Like an unwanted stranger, there is no danger.  
I am here tonight. _

Little child, be not afraid.  
Though thunder explodes and lightning flash,  
illuminates your tear-stained face.  
I am here tonight.

And someday you'll know,  
That nature is so.  
The same rain that draws you near me,  
Falls on rivers and land,  
on forests and sand,  
Makes the beautiful world that you'll see.  
In the morning.

Little child, be not afraid.  
Though storm clouds mask your beloved moon.  
And its candlelight beams, still keep pleasant dreams.  
I am here tonight.

Little child, be not afraid.  
Though wind makes creatures of our trees.  
And their branches to hands, they're not real, understand.  
And I am here tonight.

_And someday you'll know,  
That nature is so.  
The same rain that draws you near me,  
Falls on rivers and land,  
on forests and sand,  
Makes the beautiful world that you'll see.  
In the morning._

_For you know, once even I was a  
Little child, and I was afraid.  
But a gentle someone always came  
To dry all my tears, trade sweet sleep for fears.  
And to give a kiss goodnight. _

Well now I am grown,  
And these years have shown  
That rain's a part of how life goes.  
But it's dark and it's late,  
So I'll hold you and wait,  
'Till your frightened eyes do close.

_And I hope that you'll know,  
That nature is so.  
The same rain that draws you near me,  
Falls on rivers and land,  
on forests and sand,  
Makes the beautiful world that you'll see.  
In the morning._

_Everything's fine in the morning.  
The rain'll be gone in the morning.  
But I'll still be here in the morning._

Satsu looked down when he realised Penelope's grip had loosened. Penelope had fallen asleep on his lap, a smile on her face and tears dried. Satsu smiled at the small hamster.

"How's that door coming?" he asked.

Pashmina realised that she hadn't even gotten her wire out. She was so wrapped up in Satsu's song.

"Satsu…" she said. "That song."

"What I did here didn't happen, got it?" Satsu said in a quiet voice.

"ok." Said Pashmina and Panda in unison.

Suddenly, the door opened up and in came Boss.

"What's going on here?" he asked. "We heard the piano being played."

"Your ears are failing you." Satsu said getting up, Penelope in his arms. "The piano hasn't made a sound all night."

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Satsu was woken up the next morning by Panda.

"What?" Satsu asked in a groggy voice.

"We're leaving!" Panda said.

"No, we're leaving tomorrow." Satsu said throwing his covers over his head.

"No," Panda said. "Maxwell heard his owner wrong. We're leaving in five minutes!"

Satsu shot out of his bed and ran around the room like a flash. In less than ten seconds, Satsu had all his things in hand. The two hamsters ran, except Satsu who hopped, as fast as they could to the car. After climbing the rope, they made it just in time.

Satsu collapsed on the car floor and fell asleep. But not before saying. "If anyone wakes me, I'll put them in the hospital." After that, Satsu fell asleep.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Satsu found himself in the same dark place again. He saw in front of him was a white hamster with no face, strapped to a chair. Suddenly an orange furred hamster appeared next to the white hamster.

The orange hamster pulled out of nowhere, a knife. The orange hamster stepped in front of the white one… and began slashing the hamsters face. With each slash, more and more blood spattered, and most of it ended up on Satsu.

Satsu tried to run to stop the horror, but he only could run in place. Suddenly, the orange hamster moved and reviled what it had done. The white hamster has cuts on its head. And in a sick joke, the cuts formed a face on the hamster. Then the hamster fell limp.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Satsu's eyes shot open and looked around. He was in the clubhouse. Pashmina and Panda looked at him; they were the only ones there.

"How long was I asleep for?" he asked.

"A day." Pashmina said. Satsu's eyes widened. He looked at the clock. It was 10:00 PM.

Satsu then jumped off the table, and landed on both feet. But he did not twitch or yell. His leg was fine.

"Satsu, your leg!" Pashmina exclaimed.

Satsu ignored her and grabbed the wrapped up stick from his bag. And headed for the door.

"Wait." Pashmina said blocking his way. "Where are you going?"

Satsu did not answer. He then pulled his hood over his head. Suddenly, the temperature in the room dropped. Pashmina and Panda looked at Satsu with terror. They never saw him wear his hood, and for some reason, they could tell it was bad.

"I'm not letting you go." Pashmina said.

Satsu walked forward and pushed past her like she was nothing, but to Pashmina, it was like being touched by a monster. The contact felt like he would kill her if she stayed there.

Pashmina ran to Satsu and tried to stop him, but stopped when she saw the hunting knife in his sleeve slide out, and he caught it in his hand.

"What are you going to do with that?" asked Panda.

Satsu kept walking. The two were too afraid to follow him. He gave off a predator like feel.

"Please tell us!" shouted Pashmina.

Satsu turned his head, his face covered by shadow, and whispered something so quiet, it was almost inaudible. And he left the clubhouse.

He said… "Blood will spill…"

______________________________________________________________________________

I really hope you enjoyed that. Please read and review. The name of the song is Lullaby for a Stormy Night and the Artist is Vienna Teng. Though Satsu doesn't sing it in the same voice, but still in a soft one.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey! An update! I know it's been a long time since I wrote in this story, but I decided to get back to it. Now, I have to warn you. Something is said in this that some may not agree with, but its how I planned it before I wrote the story itself. So, without further ado. Blood Stained Sweater chapter

______________________________________________________________________________

Pashmina and Panda sat on the couch in the clubhouse. Everything that just happened went by too fast, too sudden. One minute Satsu was joking around with them, the next he turns dark, scary and cold.

"What should we do?" asked Pashmina.

"I don't know." Answered Panda. "He could be anywhere."

"What do you think he meant when he said "Blood will spill"?"

"I don't know. It could mean he's going to hurt somebody, but he doesn't seem to be that kind of person."

"But, we don't really know him that well. All we know is his name, and where he's living. Everything else he keeps to himself."

"I just hope he won't do anything he's going to regret." Panda said in a worried tone. "I- we all care about him… a lot."

Pashmina eyed Panda for a second. "Panda…" she called. Panda looked at his friend. "When are you going to tell Satsu?"

"T-tell him w-what exactly?" Panda sounded nervous.

"'Sigh' That you have feelings for him." Pashmina said.

Panda's face went red. "W-w-what!?" he exclaimed.

"Panda." Pashmina looked at the red hamster. "I'm not stupid. I can tell you like him from the way you act around him. Your always blushing when he compliments you, you seem to stutter around him, it's plain to see you really like him."

"B-but he's a guy!"

"So? I don't see how that's a problem."

"How can you not see the problem?!" Panda shouted. "we're both guy's!"

"Panda, there's nothing wrong with how you feel about him. Look, I'm not going to tell you what to do. All I'm saying is, if you don't tell him, someone else will get him first."

"Can we talk about something else? Like our friend who's missing?"

"Fine," said Pashmina. "But where could he have…" realization dawned on her. "We're idiots."

"Huh?"

"Come on," said Pashmina, grabbing Panda's arm and bolting out the door. "Don't you remember the letter? Today's the day he meets that San guy. It said he'd be in Kenster Park."

Panda just nodded and continued to follow Pashmina to Kenster Park. 'Danmit Satsu,' thought Pashmina. 'You better not do anything you're going to regret.' After avoiding a few cats along the way, the two arrived at the Park.

They looked around but found no one. "Where is he?" asked Panda.

Just then, the two heard four loud pops, followed by metal scrapping against asphalt. "What was that?" said Pashmina. The two Ham Hams ran to the site of the sound. They came upon a small clearing where they saw a miniature white limousine with popped tires on a cement path.

A hamster walked out wearing a black business suit and white fur. He checked the tires and condition of the car. Pashmina and Panda remained hidden in the bushes. Then, a hamster exited the back of the limo.

He wore a black business tie around his neck along with a white long sleeve casual shirt. He had white fur with a black left ear. "Javo!" he yelled in a somewhat slurred voice. "What the fuck is going on?!"

"Sorry sir," said 'Javo'. "The tires are destroyed."

"Well then fix them!"

"That won't be necessary." Said a male voice. Suddenly, in a flash of red, the driver's head fell from his body, spurting blood on the car.

"Wh- what the fuck?!"

"Sanban," said the voice. Then, in another flash of red, Satsu appeared, dawning his hood. In his hands was a long Katana covered in blood.

"I-it's you!" Sanban exclaimed. "K- Kanto! Get out here!"

Quicker then lighting, another strange hamster came from the limo. He was a tiger hamster like Stan and carried a Katana on his side.

"Kanto, kill him!" exclaimed Sanban.

The hamster known as Kanto then removed his Katana and prepared for battle. "You just made a big mistake." He said.

Then, the two Katana clashed as the two hamsters fought. Satsu made a diagonal upper slash, which Kanto blocked with his Katana. Kanto grabbed his sword with both hands and made a downward slash, causing Satsu to block, making him lose balance. Kanto took that as an opportunity and went to stab Satsu.

Satsu rolled out of the way and tried to slash at Kanto's legs. Kanto jumped and then landed on the blade of Satsu's Katana. Kanto smiled and made a sideways slash at Satsu's throat. Satsu pulled out a hunters knife from his sleeve and blocked the blade. Satsu then turned his blade on its side, cutting Kanto's feet in half.

Kanto yelled out in pain as he fell to the ground. Without the front halves of his feet, he could no longer stand. Satsu jumped to his feet and with one quick move of his hand, his Katana removed Kanto's head from his body.

Satsu then turned to Sanban, who began to run for his life. In a flash, Satsu was standing in front of Sanban. "You." Satsu said in a tone filled with anger and malice. "You have innocent blood on your hands Sanban Matsu. I am here to avenge someone you hurt."

"I-I'm sorry!" Sanban fell to his knees. "I didn't want to hurt her, I swear! Kota made me do it, I never wanted to touch he-"

"But you did!" Satsu yelled, picking up Sanban by the scruff of his fur. "You could have refused, or better yet, you could have let her go! But instead you helped kill her! I sat there and watched as you toutured her! Do you have any idea how much that affected me!"

Satsu then pulled out a hunting knife and held it up to Sanban's neck.

"P-please! D-don't kill me! I don't w-want to die!"

Satsu pulled his hand back, cutting Sanban's throat. Sanban grabbed at his bleeding throat, trying to stop the bleeding. "You should have thought about that before you did what you did."

Satsu then looked in the direction of Pashmina and Panda. "You two can come out." He said.

Pashmina and Panda were reluctant to leave their hiding spot, they just saw murder not once, but three times committed by their friend.

"Look…" Satsu stared at Sanban's corpse. "I know how it looks, but… I have a reason for what I did."

"HOW CAN YOU HAVE A REASON?!" Pashmina shouted. Said hamster ran out of the bush and stopped in front of Satsu. "You killed someone!" she yelled.

"And I have no problem with that…" Satsu said coldly.

"But why would do this?"

"That's a sec-"

"Satsu!" Satsu and Pashmina looked over to see Panda. "No more secrets, please!"

Satsu looked at his friends. "You two wouldn't understand…"

"Try us." Panda said. "Just tell us why you're doing this."

Satsu took a deep breath. "I… I don't think I should…"

"Well, I don't care." Pashmina and Satsu were both surprised at Panda's words.

"Fine…" Satsu said. "I'll tell you how this started. It all happened back in my old village, Oakstone…"

______________________________________________________________________________

Yep, that's it. Now I'm working hard on the next chapter. Oh, and I guess I should tell you what Sastu's name means. It means: Murder Expert. Next up, I'm going to go through Satsu's childhood and a bit of adult hood.


	8. Chapter 8

Here it is, part 1 of Satsu's past. Enjoy!

* * *

_Oakstone Village, the place I grew up, the place WE grew up. It was a large village, in the forest, protected from humans. It was a great place. It was built one hundred and seventeen years ago. The village was run by the elders, the descendants of the ones who built the village._

_I was born with no brothers or sisters. My mom died giving birth, and my father committed suicide after her death. I was alone, but then she came along._

A young hamster sat in a sandbox, building a strange blob with two lumps on top. The hamster had white fur and gray oval patch on his back. He had red eyes. He played with the sand, molding it into a taller blob with two lumps on top.

He sighed when he looked around him, Children playing and having fun. They never let him play with them, but that's not what bothered him. What bothered him was that they ignored him. He would talk to them, but they acted as if he weren't there.

He knew why though. They ignored him because he was strange, he was different. In Oakstone, it's believed that children with red eyes would end up becoming Hunters.

His thoughts were broken when a small girl and a boy walked up to him.

"Hi…" said the girl. She had white fur and a black bow on her head. "I'm Kona."

There was a silence, and then Kona nudged the boy next to her. "Oh, right. I'm Makato." Makato had white fur on the front and tan fur on the back and a bit on his face. He also had a head of what looked like brown hair.

"What's your name?" asked Kona.

"…S-Satsu T-Taika" the white hamster stuttered.

Kona frowned at the name. "That's a creepy name…"

"It's because of my eyes…" Satsu replied.

"…Well I'm gonna call you Satty!" Kona exclaimed.

Satsu looked at her angrily. "My names not Satty!" he said with a pout.

Kona chuckled as she and Makato sat down. "Well, Satsu is a creepy name, so your nickname is Satty!"

Satsu sighed. Is this what having friends is like? "So uh… what's with the blob?" asked Makato.

Satsu looked at his new 'friend' with an annoyed expression. "It's not a blob. It's a hamster."

Makato shrugged his shoulders and looked at the sand hamster. "It looks like a blob to me, but if you want help, I'm pretty good with art."

Satsu looked at Makato sheepishly. "O-ok, I'd like some help."

Makato shrugged his shoulders and walked up to the blob and started to observe it. "Ok, Kona, you work on the bottom," Kona giggled at the word bottom. "I'll work on the head, Satty, you work on its body, let's make it look real."

The three got to work right away. Satsu worked hard with his new friends, a smile on his face for once. "So what are you going to be?" Satsu looked down to Kona, who was making some feet out of sand.

"W-what do you mean?" Satsu asked.

"I mean, what job in the village are you going to take?"

Satsu frowned at the question. He hated the thought of his future, it always reminded him of his eyes.

"Everyone says I'm going to be a Hunter, but I want to be a Gatherer or Maker."

"Oh! I wanna be a Maker too! What kind of Maker do you wanna be?"

Satsu smiled and replied. "I dono maybe a Cook, or Clothe Designer."

"I wanna be a Clothe Designer too! If you chose that, I hope we get to work together."

Satsu's smile widened. "Me too."

After an hour, Satsu, Kona and, Makato stood in front of… another blob, but a blob with a face and body parts.

Makato stood with his chest puffed out with pride. "Well, it's no David, but it's ours!" he said with enthusiasm.

Satsu and Kona looked at Makato like he was crazy. "Makato," said Kona. "This looks… never mind. Hey, Satsu."

Said hamster looked to his female friend. "Yeah?"

"How about we meet here tomorrow."

"Sure, I can't wait."

_Kona and Makato changed me for the better. I knew what it was like to have friends, to have people who cared about you, and you cared about them. We were the best of friends; we grew up together, even in times of work we stuck together._

_I remember when I took the job of Gatherer, the elders thought it was a bad idea, but they let me choose what to be in the end._

_In Oakstone, there are three jobs for you._

_There are Gatherers. They collect food and items to build homes or furniture. Occasionally they bring back silkworm eggs so we can make clothing. They also bring back metals for weapons and other items for the Makers._

_There are the Makers. They are split into four groups. The Blacksmiths make weapons and metal items for the Hunters. The Cooks, who prepare food that is given to the community. The Clothe Designers, who make clothing and cloth items for the community from the materials brought back from the Gatherers. And the Carpenters, who build houses, furniture, and other wooden items for the village._

_Then, there are the Hunters. They are the guards, police, and the fighters of Oakstone. They are trained to protect the village at all costs, with different assortments of metal weapons. They also accompany the Gatherers outside the village in order to protect them. They usually end up killing small time things like hungry squirrels. But sometimes, it's something big, like a snake, cat, or a band of thief hamsters._

_There are also leaders, though that isn't a job you choose. They are the best in the profession they chose, and are head of the job they have. They also aid the elders in decision making, like buildings to make, people to employ, future plans for the village._

_I chose to be a Gatherer, trying to avoid the job people told me I'd have. I remember my first day._

_**Ten years later, 5:30 AM…**_

In a small hut, a white hamster was working on a sewing machine. A knock the door to the hut made the hamster turn. "Come in!" she shouted.

In walked a white hamster with a grey spot on his back and a pair of red gloves. "Satty!" yelled the other white hamster as she leapt from her stool and hugged Satsu.

"Hey Kona." Satsu replied. "How's it going?"

Kona looked up to her best friend and smiled. "Things are going great! I heard you got the job of Gatherer."

"Yeah, I'm going on my first trip today, I just wanted to stop by."

Kona let go of Satsu and pouted. "I still wish you chose to be a Clothe Designer like me. It's going to be boring without you."

"Well, I'll only be leaving the village every month, and besides, you'll have Makato here to keep you company."

"Ha, I bet he's going to come in here to sing again." Kona said.

"Someone mention me?" shouted a voice from outside.

"Makato?" asked Kona. "Come in, the doors unlocked."

In came Makato with the same white and tan fur he had when he was a child. Though he did spike his brown 'hair'. Around his shoulder was a brown guitar.

"Hey man." Greeted Satsu. "How's 'work'?" he asked with a grin.

"I don't call it work, being the town Bard is a privilege, man. Singing is like breathing for the soul."

Satsu and Kona tried to hold in their laughter, but it only got worse when Makato decided to sing.

_To breath with the soul,  
is like mining for coal.  
You never know what you're gonna get._

That was all they needed to fall to the floor in fits of laughter. "What?" they both asked in between gasps.

After getting over their laughter, Satsu and Kona stood from the floor. "So, are we going to meet at the usual place tonight?" asked Satsu.

The other two rolled their eyes at Satsu. "Yeah," said Kona. "We'll meet up at the bar later today."

Satsu smiled. "Sweet! I'm going to have some Vodka!"

"And I'm going to have some Scotch!" yelled Makato. The two then looked at Kona waiting for her response.

Kona sighed and said. "And I'm going to have Gin!" Satsu and Makato cheered.

"Alright, I'll see you two tonight." Said Satsu as he left the hut. As Satsu walked down the dirt street in his village, he noticed a few hamsters staring at him. He then bumped into someone and fell to the floor.

"Ow, sorry about tha… oh! Elder Hisashi, I'm sorry about that." Satsu said as he helped the old Hamster off the floor.

The old hamster had tan fur like Makato with a pair of small glasses. "Oh no need to apologize, it was my fault." Hisashi said, waving his hand dismissively. "Come; join an old hamster in his walk."

"Oh, I'd love to, Elder Hisashi, but I have to get to the village entrance." Satsu protested.

"Nonsense," said Hisashi. "I'm on my way there to see off the Gatherers."

"O-ok." Satsu agreed, catching up to the old hamster.

"So… I hear you chose to become a Gatherer."

Satsu looked at the aging hamster and frowned. "Yeah, I just decided to choose something that will benefit the village."

"Are you sure it's not because you're trying to escape what everyone says you should be?" the old hamster asked.

Satsu's frown deepened. "Well, I don't think me having red eyes should have anything with my occupation, do you?"

Hisashi sighed and closed his eyes. "Satsu… you shouldn't avoid fate like…"

"Your grandson?" asked Satsu.

"Yes, I don't want to see someone who could have incredible talent go to waste, I'm not saying you have to, I just wish you chose to."

"Ok, Elder Hisashi, I'll remember that."

"I hope you do. Now, how is my grandson?"

"Makato is fine, still singing songs that make no sense." Satsu said as the village entrance came into view.

"Yes… I do hope he changes that and becomes a Carpenter like he should."

"Well, he's pretty good at it; he made that guitar he carries around." Satsu said with a smile.

"Yes, he is quite good. Ah, here we are." The old hamster indicated to the village entrance. "Now I do hope you'll remember what I've said."

Satsu bowed his head in respect. "I will, elder Hisashi, thank you."

The old hamster bowed back and continued to the large group of hamsters, a few holding carrying items like wheelbarrows and trailers for carrying wood, food and other items found.

Satsu turned to another group nearby, each holding a pointed weapon or carrying a set of protective gear. "Hunters." Satsu said in disgust.

"They look pretty bloodthirsty, eh?" Satsu turned to the leader of the Gatherers.

"S-Sato!" Satsu said nervously.

"No need to act so scared, I don't bite… much." Sato said with a smile. Sato was a rather large hamster. He had black fur with white ears. He had a wheelbarrow in front of him and a trailer tied to his waist.

"It's good to see you, Sato sir." Satsu said.

Sato frowned. "I told you to drop the formalities already."

"Yes sir."

Sato glared at Satsu.

"I mean, sure thing Sato." Satsu said in a more relaxed tone.

Sato grinned and patted Satsu on the back. "Thata boy! I don't want to hear any of that 'Yes sir' bullshit they told you in training. Out here, I'm Sato the friend, not leader."

"Ok."

"But," Sato put on a serious face. "You are to listen to me no matter what. You never know what's out there. When I say jump, you better be in the air, understood?"

"Yes!"

"Good." Sato said, returning with his grin. "Now line up, I gotta address the Gatherers before we head out." Sato then walked to the front of the large group.

Satsu stood at attention, awaiting orders.

"OK!" yelled Sato, getting the attention of the Gatherers. "We've all waited for this day. Graduation day. I'm sure many of you can't wait to go home today to tell your mothers and fathers how you helped the village. Well you need to leave those thoughts at the door. In the academe, if you mess up, you get a bad grade. Out there, you hurt the village, or, God forbid, end up dead. Now remember, if you have a wheelbarrow, carry food and clothing items. Those of you who have a trailer, pick up wood, glass, and metal. Those of you who have nothing, think again. Use your hands to carry the items to the trailers and wheelbarrows. If you see something you want, leave it until you can come out of here alone. If you find something that might be important to the village, carry it back. If any of you run into danger, let the Hunters handle it, don't be a hero. Alright, let's move out!"

And with that, the Gatherers and the Hunters left the village. Satsu felt a little uneasy, he didn't know what to expect. But as long as it was for the village, he'd stay strong.

The walk was long and boring for the most part. There was no trouble along the way, so the trip was what most would call peaceful. Finally, after five hours of constant walking, they came upon a large clearing. It was filled with small trees, berry bushes and a few herbs growing here and there.

"ALRIGHT!" yelled Sato. "You all know what to do, don't stray too far from the group. We meet up back here in seven hours. If you're not here when we leave, tuff shit. Now move out!"

All the Gatherers nodded and darted off to different parts of the clearing. Satsu followed a small group to collect some food and herbs. He was doing fine, picking up two berries at a time and loading them into the wheelbarrows.

He dropped a wild berry when he heard a scream from the other side of the clearing. He looked to the direction of the yell when he saw a group of Gatherers running from a small garter snake. The hamsters were saved when some Hunters jumped in and started slashing at the snake and moving it from the Gatherers.

One of the Hunters slashed at its neck causing the serpent to spasm and twist in pain. It only got worse for the snake when another hunter used his sword to cut deeper into the snake's neck, leaving only its spine and a few pieces of skin to keep its head on.

The entire group of Hunters ran to help their comrades by holding the serpent down while a large hamster holding a battle axe walked up to the held down snake. The hamster lifted his axe with a grunt and brought it down as hard as it could. The snake's spine finally separated from the serpent, ending its life. The reptile continued to twist and turn, but the Hunters knew it would stop.

"GET BACK TO WORK!" yelled Sato. All the hamsters jumped and complied, getting back to their jobs.

Satsu took a sigh of relief. "I'm REALLY glad I went with this group." he said as he loaded the Wild berry onto a wheelbarrow. The group that was with him all nodded to his statement.

After a few hours, Satsu had finished with his first group and moved on to a second one that was collecting wood. Satsu was almost finished with the group, when he saw a shimmer in the corner of his eye.

He went over to investigate, and was shocked at what he found. "Hey!" Satsu yelled to his group. "I found something!"

"Well, bring it over damnit!" replied one of the hamsters.

"I would, but I don't think I can carry all these nails!"

THAT got everyone's attention. It only took a minute for every hamster to get over to where Satsu stood. Every one of them looked on smiling at Satsu. In the bush, was a large box of steel long nails, some sticking out the box.

The Gatherers cheered at the haul they'd be bringing back home. The Hunters were high-fiving each other. "My sword's getting an upgrade!" shouted one of the Hunters.

All the hamsters, even the Hunters, worked together to carry the box back to town. They all had enough wood, food, and herbs to last the village for another month. The snake was an added bonus. Its meat would go good for the town feast, where all the hamsters ate together as a community each week. Its skin would make good armor for the Hunters. Yes, today was truly a momentous day.

However, the happiness stopped when the group came across a bump in the road when they were an hour from the village. Said bump took the form of a black furry log that blocked the path.

The Hunters, who had to drop the box of nails, walked cautiously towards the log. It couldn't be a log, it was far too small. It couldn't be a caterpillar, it was too big, and it was black. They then realized what it was they were staring at.

The temporary leader of the small group of Hunters, the one with the axe, walked up to Sato and whispered into his ear. "We got a problem."

"What?" Sato whispered back.

"We have a black cat here."

The fur on the back of Sato's neck stood up on end. "What do we do?" he asked in a calm voice.

"Well, the Hunters and I think it would be best if you and the Gatherers went back a few meters. I, and a few Hunters will stay here and watch the cat, maybe try to lure it out of here. When the coast is clear, I'll come tell you."

"This is why we need more than one path." Sato whispered angrily.

"We'll have plenty of time to complain about this when we return home. For now, you need to get out of here."

Sato nodded and turned to call his group over. He waved them over and whispered their plans, leaving out the part about the cat.

"But sir," one of the Gatherers said. "Why are we going back, couldn't we move that thing by ourselves?"

Sato glared at the hamster. "Are you questioning my orders?" he asked in intimidating tone.

The hamster gulped and shook his head. "No sir."

"Good, now-"

"SHIT!"

All of the Gatherers looked on in horror as a large, to them, black cat stared at them with hungry eyes.

Apparently one of the Hunters got too close to the feline, touching its fur. The small contact woke the animal from its sleep. It stretched and turned to see the many, many, MANY tiny creatures that looked quite tasty.

"EVERYONE, DROP WHAT YOU'VE GOT AND RUN!" ordered Sato as he and the Gatherers ran into the trees and bushes.

Satsu, however, was frozen stiff when he looked at the large animal. He saw pictures of them, he'd read about them, but he never SAW one before. It was so big. Its teeth so sharp. How its eyes bore into him like a drill.

The cat began to walk up to Satsu, its eyes piercing his soul. Before it could get within four feet of him, one of the Hunters jumped from the bush and cut the cat's foot with his dagger. The cat yelped in pain as blood spurted from a large vein.

"The hell are you doing?!" yelled the Hunter as he grabbed Satsu.

Satsu couldn't answer; he was still frightened by the cat.

"Listen," the Hunter continued. "You need to get the hell out of here, backup's on the."

Satsu snapped out of his stupor and nodded to the Hunter. "A-alright, I'll try."

"Don't try, do!" the Hunter shouted as he sprang from the bush and cut the cats other paw.

Satsu took a big gulp and readied himself to run. "Ok, three… two…o-"

As if God hates him, Satsu froze when he felt something's eyes staring at him. He looked up into two green slitted large eyes staring back at him hungrily. Satsu gulped again.

It was like time stood still for Satsu. There, in front of him, was his executioner, his enemy, his Grim Reaper. He wasn't ready to die yet; he had so much to do, so much to say. He had friends that cared for him and he cared for them.

Satsu looked to his right, no one. He looked to his left, no one. He was going to die unnoticed. No one would even he was gone. He was going to turn back to his death, when something caught his attention, at the bottom corner of his eye. He looked to the ground slowly to see a dagger, most likely dropped by the Hunter.

Satsu turned to face his doom. He stared the cat in the eyes. For some reason, he felt his eyes linger back to the dagger. It was just lying there, untouched, unused. He looked back to the cat as it raised its paw to crush him. His eyes again wondered back to the dagger.

Why was it so interesting? He was about to die, and all he could do was stare at a small weapon. He looked back to his predicament with the cat. It was still slowly, for him at least, raising its paw above its head.

He looked to the dagger again. It was so small, so close. He could… no, he wouldn't be able to. It was then he remembered his promise to his friends. How they'd go to the bar.

Satsu jumped to the dagger, grabbing its handle and going into a pretty awkward battle stance. No, he couldn't die, he WOULDN'T die.

"I'm so screwed." He whispered to himself as the cat smiled at his sad attempt to defend himself.

The feline swatted at Satsu who rolled to the side to dodge, but unfortunately was still his by the cat's large paw, sending him hurtling to a tree. He was mere feet away from the hard surface of the tree, thoughts racing through his mind.

One thought however, sounded somewhat plausible. _'If I can soften the blow by landing on my feet, I could spring towards the cat. It would move out of the way and though the landing will be rough, I should be a good few feet from the thing to run away.'_

With that sorted, Satsu twisted his body in the air, adjusting his position and landing on the tree, crouching and preparing to spring forward. In that one second of preparation, Satsu couldn't but wonder why the things he was doing felt like he'd done it all before.

Satsu sprung from the tree, dagger in hand, and hoping to God that the cat moves. Unfortunately, the cat merely smiled and opened its mouth, waiting for its food.

Satsu cursed in his head, he pretty much committed suicide. Just when he was a foot from hell's gate, Satsu got an idea that was hopefully not his last.

As he hit the roof of the cat's mouth, and slid down the tight esophagus, Satsu held the dagger in both hands, scraping it against the slimy tube.

He was only a few inches from the stomach, when he heard the tare of the throat. Blood leaked down his arms, but it was too dark for him to see. He then felt himself being pulled up as the tube prison tightened around him. He then felt a crushing weight as the cat fell over.

Satsu felt his body ach with exhaustion, wanting to rest, but he refused to do so. He used the dagger to tare his way through the throat, into the muscle area. He could feel his air supply cutting off, leaving him only his leftover carbon dioxide to inhale.

Finally, Satsu could see a small trace of light through a wall of flesh. He tore the skin open and squeezed through the small hole he made. Satsu fell to the soft, cool grass, taking a gulp of sweet air. He saw everything getting dark, his fatigue taking affect and rendering him unconscious.

When he awoke, Satsu found himself lying in a bed at the clinic. He looked around him, noticing a few flowers around. _'What happened?'_ he asked.

His thoughts were cut off as the door to the clinic opened, and in came a worried Kona. The hamster looked at Satsu with a mixture of both shock and relief. Kona walked next to Satsu… and punched him in the face.

"OW!" Satsu shouted, gripping his jaw. "What the hell was that for?"

"You idiot!" yelled Kona. "What were you thinking?! You could have died!"

Satsu froze as the memories of what happened came to him. "Kona…"

"I was worried sick!" Kona shouted, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"I…I'm sorry…" Satsu replied.

"Sorry?! That's all you can say after scaring me half to death?!"

"That's enough, Kona." Said a voice from outside. The two hamsters looked to the door where Hisashi stood.

"Elder Hisashi!" said Kona.

"Kona, would you mind leaving me and Satsu alone for a second?" asked the old hamster.

"But he-"

"Please, Kona." The elder pressed on. Kona nodded and bowed to the elder, walking outside, giving Satsu one last glare.

Satsu looked to the old hamster with a look of despair. "I…" his words were stuck in his throat as he saw the elder eyeing him, like some test subject.

"I understand you managed to find some nails." The elder spoke. Satsu nodded, swallowing a lump in his throat.

"Y…yeah. I found them…"

The aging hamster smiled, taking a seat next to Satsu. "You also managed to save the Gatherers."

"I killed an animal…" Satsu looked at his paws. He didn't save anyone but himself.

"Had you not done what you did, many would have died, and more would be injured." Hisashi said.

"But I-"

"Satsu," the old hamster had a stern face. "You did what was right, for the village, for yourself, for your friends."

Satsu froze. His friends, what would they say when they heard what he did. "But it's murder…"

"So you believe that killing something that would have killed everyone there, as well as harm more murder? Well, if that's the case, maybe we should stop defending the village if it means murder."

"No, it's just-"

"Just what? You think that fighting to live is wrong? What do you think would happen if you died?"

Satsu winced at the elder's cruel tone. But he was right; Kona and Makato would be devastated if he'd died. "Your right…" he said, feeling a slight weight lift off his shoulders. "But what now?"

"Now, you're going to do what you should have done in the first place. You're becoming a hunter."

"A h-hunter?!" Satsu asked.

"Yes, you know that you would be better off as one."

"But I don't want-"

"You don't want to protect this village?" Hisashi asked.

"N-no, I just don't want to be what everyone expects me to be!" Satsu said.

The old hamster sighed; he was too old for this. "Satsu, I'd like to tell you a story."

The white hamster looked to the elder. "A story?"

"Yes," Hisashi nodded. "About a young hamster. This hamster lived in this village all his life. When it came to his job decision, he chose to be a carpenter, even though the village and his father had a job for him to take. He didn't want the job because he refused to be what everyone wanted. He thought that he was living a better life. One day, his father died of a heart attack, and the village went into a panic. His father was a very important person, and without him, the village began to lose moral and food. They begged the hamster to take his father's place, but he refused. The result, half the village left for better things. The next day, twelve of the seventy-nine that left, returned. The rest died from a bandit attack. Had that young hamster did what he was supposed to, those hamsters wouldn't have left and died."

Satsu stared awestruck at the elder, completely enraptured in the tale. "What happened?" he asked.

"He took his father's job, the village slowly regrew, and in time, the people forgave him. But to this day, I still regret the mistakes I made."

Satsu jumped when Hisashi said _'I'_ "Y-you were that hamster?"

The aged hamster nodded, a sad smile on his lips. "To this day, I still see the tears that rolled of the cheeks of the children that lost so many loved ones…" the elder looked up to make eye contact with Satsu. "I don't like destiny as much as you, but I know that what's best for this village, is best for everyone." The old hamster got off the chair, cracking his back and smiling. "Think about this Satsu, please, don't make the same mistake I did." With that, Hisashi left.

Satsu sat there, thinking about all the elder had said. "Elder Hisashi!" he yelled. The old elder poked his head through the door. "I'll do it… I'll become a hunter…"

* * *

Well that's part one of Satsu's child/teen hood. Though it mainly focused on the teen aspect of his life. Next chapter will explain his life as a hunter, as well as why he killed Sanban.


End file.
